Madam Speaker, this is another issue that should not be hijacked by partisanship.
I rise today to speak to a bill that is important for women who are victims of domestic violence. The Bloc Québécois is in favour of Bill S‑205. This is bill is consistent with the initiatives that have strengthened the justice and policing systems to address domestic violence. Gender-based violence is a scourge, and we believe that this bill is a step in the right direction for achieving this goal. To follow on the work we did in committee, we are maintaining our support for Bill S‑205. The Bloc Québécois' position is consistent with the initiatives that seek to strengthen the mechanisms to better align the justice system with public safety, particularly to ensure better protection for victims of domestic violence.
I will give an overview of this bill and then talk a bit about parole and the reservations we have. I will close by talking about the progress made in Quebec on this matter.
First, I too would like to acknowledge Conservative Senator Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu, who appeared before the Standing Committee on the Status of Women.
Essentially, the purpose of this bill is to amend the Criminal Code to require a judge who is making a decision on the interim release of an accused person to ensure that the prosecutor has consulted the informant about their security needs. The bill would allow the judge to order the wearing of a monitoring device, commonly known as an electronic monitoring bracelet, when the prosecutor so requests. The purpose of the bill is to make it easier for the victim to obtain a copy of the order against the accused, and it requires the judge to ask the prosecutor whether the victim has been informed of the order. The bill also seeks to allow victims to lay an information before a judge about their abuser, if they have reasonable grounds to fear for their physical safety or that of their child. If the fear is justified, the judge may order the defendant to enter into a recognizance under threat of imprisonment.
The bill also gives the judge the authority to set the conditions for a good behaviour recognizance by imposing such things as psychosocial follow-up, relocation to a geographic area other than that of the informant, the obligation to refrain from going to a specified place and the obligation to refrain from communicating directly or indirectly with a child, the informant, the informant's child or any relative or close friend of the informant. The bill also allows the judge to prohibit the abuser from using social media and consuming drugs, alcohol or other intoxicants and to require that they provide a sample to check compliance with this condition. The bill also permits the informant to provide submissions in writing to the judge regarding the conditions of the recognizance to be set by the judge.
Bill S-205 has three main components: the obligation to consult the victim before making a conditional release order; the addition of the concept of domestic violence, allowing a victim to apply to have the accused enter into a recognizance to keep the peace under the infamous section 810 of the Criminal Code; and the preponderance of the victim's version of events, which could influence the choice of conditions the defendant will be subject to under the recognizance.
Bill S‑205 broadens the scope of section 810 of the Criminal Code, which empowers the court to order the defendant to enter into a recognizance to be of good behaviour if the victim fears that the defendant will cause personal injury to them, their child or their intimate partner or damage to their property. The bill adds relatives, close friends and other people who may be targeted to that list.
Let us not forget that release, with or without conditions, allows an accused person to be released into the community while awaiting trial. In Quebec and Canada, criminal law and penal law must punish crime and protect the public. With femicide and domestic violence on the rise, it is important to strengthen mechanisms for protecting victims, their children and their loved ones. Modernizing the Criminal Code is an essential part of that, and that is exactly what Bill S‑205 does.
The Criminal Code sets out the conditions under which it would be justified to detain an accused person pending trial. The decision to detain a person awaiting trial depends on a number of factors specific to each situation. When it is in the public interest to detain an accused person, it is important to remember that the accused is deprived of the exercise of fundamental rights. These include the presumption of innocence and the right to life, liberty and security of the person.
Allowing the victim to be more involved in the legal process is a welcome improvement that the Bloc Québécois can support unreservedly. Victims should not have to fight for justice to be served. The bill will help reduce the obstacles that victims might encounter and that might dissuade them from taking the brave step of filing a complaint against their abuser. There might be gaps in the bill that could compromise certain fundamental rights, like the requirement to provide biological samples to prove that the defendant has not breached a recognizance to be of good behaviour.
We supported the amendment made in committee to clause 1, which deals with the criminal history of a violent intimate partner. The amendment excludes cases of limitation and focuses only on whether the person has already been convicted, regardless of which crime they have been charged with. This has the effect of covering a broader range of offences for the benefit of the victim. The same goes for the list of amendments in clause 2, which clarifies the legal definition of partners and their children, who are included in the risk assessment and the protections granted. For most of these amendments, it is a matter of aligning the amendment with the relevant section of the Criminal Code, as it currently stands. We heard that in committee from experts.
We are in favour of the amendments dealing with specialized services for first nations, although all citizens should be entitled to the best support services available. However, we are not in favour of reducing the maximum time the judge can order the defendant to be of good behaviour from 2 years to 12 months. I still do not understand why this amendment was made at committee. In recent news, we have seen that spouses can act years later, motivated by revenge. Finally, we are in favour of the new clause 10.1 proposed by the committee. It includes the new amendments to the Criminal Code regarding firearms and all other types of weapons. This new section allows the judge to determine whether to prohibit the defendant from possessing any firearm, prohibited weapon, restricted weapon, crossbow and prohibited device, for example.
In spite of our reservations regarding the bill as a whole, the Bloc Québécois will support it because it is commendable and seeks to make our communities safer, which is a net benefit for all Quebeckers. A sense of security within communities reinforces a nation's well-being. If passed, these legislative changes will represent an added value for victims, including female victims of domestic or sexual violence. The justice system has to be more effective in general and more transparent, not least to facilitate the legal process and ease the long-term effects on victims or their family, especially when a decision is made about releasing the assailant. It also strengthens public trust in the justice system so that no other victim of a crime will hesitate to report it to the police. This is still a problem in 2024—victims are still reluctant to come forward and report their abusers.
Quebec is one of the most progressive nations when it comes to protecting victims of family and domestic violence. In fact, Quebec's department of public safety launched a Quebec-wide electronic monitoring device pilot project. In December 2022, more than 650 offenders on parole were fitted with such a device. Let us not forget that these are people being prosecuted for offences for which they could be sentenced to incarceration in a Quebec prison. Federal offenders were not subject to the same conditions. It is time to settle this discrepancy and make sure that all inmates released from prison are subject to the same restrictions.
Statistics show that femicide and domestic violence are on the rise. Between 2009 and 2019, there was an increase of 7.5%. The updated statistics are chilling, particularly the ones released by Statistics Canada this summer. In Quebec alone, 14 femicides occurred in 2024, and eight of those women were killed by their partner or former partner. The first femicide took place in the riding of Shefford. I would like to once again offer my condolences to the victim's loved ones, whom I had the opportunity to meet during a difficult time this summer. They decided to turn their tragic experience into something positive by organizing an event to help raise funds for Maison Alice-Desmarais, a shelter for women fleeing domestic violence. The shelter is located in Granby.
As I was saying, the situation is now catastrophic. It is imperative that we use this solution, which may not be perfect but is still the best solution. As we know, electronic bracelets with geolocation save lives. As parliamentarians, we have a responsibility to help reverse this disturbing trend. The reality on the ground highlights the shortcomings of the status quo that prevails in the justice system. Many victims continue to fear their abuser, even when that individual is in custody. We can only applaud an initiative that seeks to improve the victim's experience of the justice system throughout the process, starting from the moment she decides to file a complaint. I would like to point out that Quebec elected officials produced a non-partisan report entitled “Rebâtir la confiance”, or rebuilding trust. Politics were set aside to tackle this problem. I say bravo for the specialized courts and the electronic monitoring bracelets.
In closing, the Bloc Québécois will stand up for women who are victims of domestic violence. Even one victim is one too many. Several communities have declared femicide an epidemic. We need to take action. I want to say one last thing. Last Friday, I marched with the Coalition des groupes de femmes de la Haute-Yamaska et de Brome-Missisquoi and many other groups from across Quebec. I was deeply moved to be joining those women once again this year.